Heat Waves May Age Your Body Faster, New Study Suggests

Here’s yet another good reason to create summer provisions for staying cool and hydrated: researchers at Harvard University and China’s Zhejiang University School of Medicine combined medical and meteorological data to find that severe heat waves can wipe out an average six months of human lifespan each time they happen.

StudyFinds covers the findings, after the scientists pooled data from 2,300 participants as part of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Participants were ages 45 and up, with an average age of 59. Metrics had been taken such as their cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar (A1C), and markers for inflammation and kidney function. The team used these values to calculate a person’s biological age against their chronological age.

They also reportedly analyzed weather patterns for 12 months leading up to those vital measurements, and across 50 Chinese cities they sought out what they defined as heat waves: periods of four consecutive days when temperatures ranged in the top 2.5% for that year.

What the study discovered

Originally published in the Cyborg and Bionic Systems journal, the study concludes that “greater [heat wave] exposure was significantly associated with higher [biological age acceleration].” StudyFinds also reports that heat waves were associated with a 0.531-year acceleration in biological aging—roughly six months and just under two weeks.

For every day the heat wave continued past the defined four-day period, exposure added another 0.057 years to that biological age gap. Other observations included the finding that heavier individuals seemed to be affected by the most aggressive pace of aging, as well as people living in cities and in subtropical parts of China.

The source pinpoints cholesterol and A1C to be two major variables that contributed to the expedited aging rates. These “together suggest a pattern of metabolic stress” that seem to dictate overall wellness better, perhaps, than many of us have understood before.

Citing climbing temperatures in connection with global warming, the study’s text points to heat waves “becoming increasingly frequent, prolonged, and severe, thereby amplifying their associated health burdens.” As such, the findings regarding long-term health effects could be critical moving forward as the authors call for “adaptive public health strategies.”

How to battle the heat

This is all the more reason to help vulnerable individuals, like the frail, ill, and elderly when the temperatures rise. Check that these individuals in your community have access to plenty of cold, clean water; have working air conditioning or a good fan, and have meals that require little or no cooking, should the grid see strain.

Cold soups like gazpacho and healthy non-perishables like tuna, jarred applesauce, and canned vegetables can help get somebody through to their next grocery trip. And, remember one of our favorite hot-weather hacks: a wet washcloth stored in the fridge, with a spritz of eucalyptus oil for anyone who can handle a refreshing tingle on their skin.

For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Keep reading:

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